2022–2027 Strategic Plan
MRM’s Strategic Plan for 2022–2027 was approved by the Board of Trustees in August 2022. Read on to learn more about what we are committed to, and how we plan to achieve these priorities. (You can find MRM’s mission, values, and diversity, equity, inclusion & justice statements on our home page.)
Introduction
While Many Rivers Montessori is only in its eighth year (2022), this strategic plan can be viewed as the guide to the third stage of its development. The first stage was our school’s founding with toddler, Children’s House and elementary programs, gaining AMI recognition and adding the Middle School. The second stage was leaving our rental properties for a permanent home and gaining ISACS accreditation. The visionary and risk-taking founding of Many Rivers has been a success, and over this period the school has grown from 75 to 199 students and we currently employ 40 part-time and full-time staff members.
Meeting the goals of this strategic plan will depend on Many Rivers continuing its culture of embracing challenges and succeeding in the pursuit of providing a world class Montessori education. In our ISACS self study, we wrote of the ongoing tension between our vision of excellence and the resources available, described by one person as trying to fund a 90th percentile vision from 10th percentile tuition and fundraising levels. Since Many Rivers has no intention of reducing its vision, the third stage of the school’s development can be understood as having two primary aims:
Clarifying and prioritizing the details of our vision of excellence, and
Determining a framework for sustainable funding of this vision.
VISION
Our students are empowered to transform the world into a better place for all.
AUTHENTIC MONTESSORI EDUCATION: OUR THEORY OF PERSONAL GROWTH
Our school is committed to rigorous, true, and authentic application of the principles and pedagogy of Dr. Maria Montessori. She defined, and we embrace, the goal of education as championing "the development of a complete human being, oriented to the environment, and adapted to his/her/their time, place and culture." The method includes the prepared environment, which nurtures the independence of the child, creates an abiding respect for self and others, and instills a love of learning and exploration. Dr. Montessori believed that children learn through purposeful, hands-on, activities. The prepared spaces provide a developmentally appropriate environment that supports and inspires the child's innate desire to learn, and where the choice of meaningful work is expected and respected. Montessori philosophy is rooted in the natural world. With daily lessons of grace and courtesy, our children grow to understand and respect one another and to value each other's differences. Justice is also a core value of Dr. Montessori’s vision; she wrote that education was the best weapon for peace.
STRATEGIC PLAN
1. CREATE A MORE SUSTAINABLE TEACHING, SUPPORT & ADMINISTRATIVE STAFFING STRUCTURE TO DRIVE WORLD CLASS MONTESSORI EDUCATION.
Compensation
As rapidly as possible move the average guide salary to above the 50th percentile for similarly-sized schools.
Adjust assistant pay rates and allocate more resources to assistant compensation to make a longer-term commitment to MRM more feasible.
Develop a more robust benefits program, including the addition of dental coverage.
Student Support
Increase capacity of the learning support program.
Add a part-time staff position, such as a school counselor, for the guides to collaborate with when handling learning and/or behavioral issues and mental health challenges.
Add a part-time staff Before & Aftercare Coordinator to ensure the programmatic excellence and mission consistency of these programs.
Administration
Develop a plan for supporting technology without being overly reliant on volunteerism.
Develop systems to better measure the educational outcomes of MRM students.
Ensure that the academic program leadership is sufficient to support excellence in Montessori teaching, and also to develop needed other program elements as needed.
2. REBUILD AN ENGAGED SCHOOL COMMUNITY POST COVID, & INTEGRATE A CULTURE OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION & JUSTICE INTO THE FABRIC OF OUR COMMUNITY
Community Building
Develop a vibrant and inclusive Parent Association that welcomes parents into the school community and fosters meaningful engagement.
Seek multiple opportunities to preserve and institutionalize the school’s core values so that they continue to characterize the school.
Establish an alumni association that connects with alumni in meaningful ways.
Governance
Ensure that DEI-J commitments are integrated into the school’s bylaws.
Develop trustee nomination and recruitment policies and procedures that have proven to be highly effective at bringing and keeping individuals who add to Board diversity.
Ensure trustees have access to an adequate array of effective professional development programs to prepare them to meet the needs of an equitable and inclusive school, including diversity that may not yet be present within the school.
Faculty Support
Designate a non-volunteer entity to oversee DEI-J efforts throughout the school; i.e., a DEI-J Coordinator.
Maintain ongoing professional development opportunities in DEI-J for faculty and staff, including time for reflective conversations.
Adopt additional strategies for staff recruitment that are more likely to reach a diverse pool of applicants.
Curriculum
Fully integrate the faculty-adopted social justice curriculum framework from Learning for Justice into the classrooms.
Aspire to be a place where in the next five years MRM’S DEI-J commitments are a living part of the school culture and our older students are able to comfortably talk about these topics and why they are important.
Ensure that the school’s holiday celebrations/educational efforts reflect a wide array of traditions.
3. GROW & MAINTAIN FACILITIES THAT MAXIMIZE EDUCATIONAL QUALITY & STUDENT EXPERIENCE
Construct an addition to accommodate our growing Upper Elementary and to enhance our campus for all levels with an outdoor classroom and rooftop garden.
Develop a Facilities Master Plan that includes regular and deferred maintenance.
Engage in campus master planning to determine how to make the most of our small site: is there room for more gardens, animals, outdoor learning areas, etc.
Incorporate setting aside funds for regular maintenance into the school’s budgeting process.
4. DEVELOP A STRONGER FINANCIAL FOUNDATION TO SUPPORT & SUSTAIN ONGOING GROWTH, WHILE ADVANCING EQUITABLE ACCESS TO MONTESSORI EDUCATION
Tuition, Financial Aid and Enrollment
Restructure the need-based financial aid program to better meet financial need so that continued enrollment at Many Rivers is sustainable & inclusive of a diversity of students.
Adjust tuition to a level that better meets the school’s ability to support an excellent program and appropriate staff compensation while maintaining a mid-range price point.
Add a part-time admissions director, who would also take a leadership role in marketing.
Giving
Raise the funds necessary for the Upper Elementary/Outdoor Classroom/Rooftop Garden addition.
Over a five year period, increase annual giving to the average per student contribution of peer schools.
Establish an endowment.
Ensure that the administrative staff is sufficient to support an increasingly robust fundraising program.